A Foundation, Better Health for Rural Women, Children and Internally Displaced Persons Foundation in Ebonyi State has advocated equal rights and privileges as well as an end to unnecessary stigmatization of uncircumcised teenage girls in Ebonyi rural communities.
Team lead of the foundation Dr. Mrs Nkechi Echiegu, during an interview in Abakaliki, condemned the stigmatization of uncircumcised girls by their illiterate peers and parents in some rural areas of the state, which she attributed to the reason three teenage female students of Community secondary school Ezza-Inyimagu in Izzi local government area of the state opted in for female genital mutilation.
She warned parents to be alive to their responsibilities by protecting and encouraging their children to shun negative family and societal pressures always.
The Team lead disclosed that one of the survivors is now the Foundation’s Champion on campaign against FGM.
She attributed their actions to ignorance and stigmatization, adding that her life has not been the same as she feels pain while urinating and other numerous inconveniences.
Echiegu pledged continuous sensitization by the foundation which is a pet project of the state governor’s wife, Mrs. Mary-Maudlin Nwifuru, to create more awareness due to the several reports of people still mutilating female genitals in the rural communities in the state.
“In September 2023 we learnt that some girls in Ezza -Inyimaegu in Izzi local government area of the state went to a traditional birth attendant and demanded to be circumcised.
Actually, it was even a man that circumcised them. When we heard about it, we wanted to find out why. It is an international discussion because UNFPA decided to partner our foundation Better Health for Rural Women, Children and Internally Displaced Persons Foundation (BEROW) to follow up and find out if it’s actually true. And we went to the community secondary school in Ezza- Inyimaegu and found one of the girls (names withheld) and she opened up that yes she went with two of her friends. We asked why and she replied that her mother and others in the area kept stigmatizing her for being uncircumcised and that all her age mates are all circumcised and she was not. That her age mates call her names, labeled her (Akpapi) which means uncircumcised.
“So according to her, the stigmatization got too much and they decided to just go and get circumcised and be free and have peace in their homes. When we saw her, she owned up and regretted having pleased others and made herself very unhappy. Because after the circumcision she discovered that urinating is such a big problem among other inconveniences.”
